Lamoureux honored by the APAState Sen. Michael Lamoureux was recently awarded Headliner of the Year at the Arkansas Press Association (APA) annual convention in Hot Springs. The honor recognizes Arkansans who generate positive headlines for the state, which is part of Lamoureux's duty as President Pro Tem of the Senate for the 89th General Assembly. "It was an honor to receive this award from the Arkansas Press Association," Lamoureux said. "An important part of doing my...

Cemetery commission plans for maintenanceThe Oakland Cemetery Commission focused on cemetery maintenance during its regular meeting Tuesday. Repairs are being made to the property after an alleged drunken driver damaged a telephone pole, fencing and gravestones on July 5 along 11th Street on the south side of the cemetery. Director Lequitta Jones reported a cost of $817 to repair the monuments, $92 to replace the telephone pole and estimates are being gathered for fencing repairs. Th...

Storm cluster wreaks havocA cluster of severe thunderstorms ravished Pope and Yell counties Wednesday afternoon, leaving many residents in the dark. At 2:52 p.m., the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Pope County when radar indicated a cluster of storms with winds in excess of 60 mph were located from Russellville to five miles east of Pottsville. Around 3 p.m., nearly 44 percent (3,465) of the 7,936 Entergy outages reported across...

RFD partners with Crow MountainThe Russellville Fire Department (RFD) finalized a partnership with the Crow Mountain Fire District and will now provide auto-aid to the district in exchange for help covering areas north of Interstate 40 where RFD has a limited water supply. "They need our water," Greg Standridge, Crow Mountain fire chief, said. Auto-aid means both fire departments are alerted to a fire alarm. Mutual-aid, which is what RFD previously was, means the second fir...

Downtown parking deck neededThe consensus among business owners, Russellville residents and volunteers who want to make the downtown area a better place to shop and work agreed on one thing Wednesday — more parking is definitely needed, and it could be accomplished with a strategic plan that would start with a coordinated parking effort. Now, how much it will cost and how to pay for it become the next phases. The city’s parking committee met for a combined four-plus hour...

California firm issues nationwide fruit recallCUTLER, Calif. (AP) — A Central California company has issued a voluntary nationwide recall of specific lots of its fresh peaches, plums, nectarines and pluots over concerns of possible listeria contamination. Wawona Packing says on its website that no illnesses have been reported and the recall is a precautionary measure. The company said the recalled fruit was packed and shipped to retailers from June 1 through July 12. Retailers in Arkansas...

Library adds electronic payment optionHECTOR — The Pope County Library System (PCLS) Board of Trustees approved partnering with the Information Network of Arkansas to provide an Internet portal with a card swipe during its regular meeting last week at the Hector Library. Library patrons will be able to purchase books in the bookstore or pay fines by logging in to the portal, entering their card information and printing a receipt to give to the circulation desk clerk. A receipt can...

Lottery officials warn of scamOfficials with the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) are warning Arkansans of a scam where people not affiliated with ASL call residents and say they have won lottery prizes. ASL warns that the scammers may have a resident's personal information. "The caller will often know the victim's home address and will often instruct him/her to go to a local store to purchase a pre-paid card called Green Dot MoneyPak to use to pre-pay taxes owed on the ...

Mayor gives update on Master PlanThere is one major reason the city of Russellville has enjoyed a rebirth downtown in the past few years — the vision, creation and implementation of a master plan. Russellville Mayor Bill Eaton gave an update on the Downtown Master Plan during Thursday’s City Council meeting. Its origins date back to 2008, when a local historic district was created. Aldermen passed a resolution in 2009 which authorized Main Street Russellville (MSR) to develop...

Breakfast, lunch prices to increase at DoverDOVER — The Dover Board of Education approved a breakfast and lunch price increase during its regular meeting Thursday. After a recommendation from Superintendent Jerry Owens, the board voted to raise the breakfast price from $1 to $1.25 and the lunch price from $1.50 to $1.75. The increase stems from a deficit in food-related funds from the prior school year. "This [lunch price] is still below most of the area schools," Owens said after prese...

Youth Academy participants fight firesLocal teens battled a blaze alongside firemen near the Russellville Regional Airport on Thursday — as part of an educational program. Twenty-one 13-15-year-olds participated Wednesday through Friday in the third annual Youth Academy, which the Russellville Police Department (RPD) sponsored. The group suited up in firefighter gear and fought the flames with caution on Thursday, one of several activities geared toward exposing youth to emergency...

Yell County awarded grant to repair courthouseDANVILLE — Yell County Judge Mark Thone notified the Quorum Court during its regular meeting Monday of a courthouse renovation grant the county received. The county was awarded a $138,500 grant from the Arkansas Historical Preservation Society to repair the roof of the Dardanelle courthouse. "This will be used to remove all the many layers of roll roofing that is up on the roof and put a new roof on there," Thone said. Thone updated the Quorum...

Copper theft suspect arrestedThe Russellville Police Department (RPD) made an arrest this week in connection with the recent rash of air-conditioning coil thefts. "Late last month, we had approximately 14-16 air conditioning coil thefts in the city of Russellville," an RPD officer testified during felony bond hearings Friday. "Using multiple intelligence sources, I was able to identify [David] Kelley as a possible suspect, in that he had made multiple sales to local scrap...

Demmitt leads London by forceLONDON — Being a woman in law enforcement has never hindered Joann Demmitt. London's Chief of Police said she views her position as an advantage in serving her community. Demmitt has served the London Police Department since 2001, and prior to her time as chief, she worked for the Arkansas State Police as a state trooper. "My dad prefers me here than being a trooper," Demmitt said. "My family is very supportive of me." Even though the career r...

Crematorium public hearing setThe Arkansas State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors will conduct a public hearing on a proposed crematorium at 1 p.m. July 29 in the council chambers, located on the second floor of Russellville City Hall. Anyone who wants to speak during the hearing is asked to notify the board no later than July 25, and the speaker must sign in at the hearing. All written comments must also be submitted to the board by July 25 and can be emailed to a...

Russellville City Council approves waste bid proposal Waste Management will continue to be the city of Russellville’s single trash service provider for the next five years. The Russellville City Council approved a recommendation from the Finance Committee during its regular meeting Thursday to accept the solid waste bid proposal presented by Waste Management Inc. Two bids — one by Waste Management, the other by DC Trash — were submitted to the city by the deadline earlier this month. Waste Manage...

City Corporation looks to enforce violationsCity Corp. discussed enforcing code violations during its board meeting Tuesday. After hearing a presentation about the city's water system from RJN Group, Mayor Bill Eaton suggested the board enforce private violations to make it easier for the city to repair and maintain its pipelines. "The public ought to know that the public is causing this," Eaton said. General Manager Steve Mallett explained City Corp. will install a temporary $5 cap for...

Dardanelle doubles SROs, chooses county over cityDARDANELLE — Instead of one school resource officer (SRO) from the Dardanelle Police Department, the district hopes to have two from the Yell County Sheriff's Office (YCSO) for the 2014-15 school year. The Dardanelle Board of Education approved terminating its contract with the city in favor of partnering with the county for the upcoming school year. The district will pay the officers' salaries — no more than $42,445 each per year — for 10 mon...

Russellville Pool Committee focuses on 3 aquatic center sites Russellville’s Pool Committee will obtain additional information on three sites for a proposed aquatic center, members said during their meeting Tuesday at City Hall. The three proposed sites include: • Property owned by the Boys and Girls Club of the Arkansas River Valley, with access from 16th and 19th Streets; • Property near the S curve of West Parkway Drive; and • Property next to Hickey Park. Alderman Spencer Roberts, Pool Committee chai...

Council expected to table Reasoner Lane extensionThe Russellville City Council will likely table appropriating $100,000 for planning and designing an extension of Reasoner Lane after Tuesday night's scheduled fact-finding meeting for the project was canceled. The Finance Committee last week approved recommending the appropriation, but Chairman Randy Horton said on Wednesday that the council will "almost certainly" table it pending further research. The proposed extension includes two roundab...